After Bannockburn

by H A CULLEY

  Simon thought for a moment. ‘I’ll send my warship back to you when it’s escorted the corn to safety with the merchants of Aberdeen. I’m sure that the king will accept your service in lieu of mine. Meanwhile, I’ll fulfil your obligation to the earl.’

  When Simon arrived at Ayton after setting matters in train at Lamberton he wondered what sort of a reception he would receive. He hadn’t seen Bridget for five months and they hadn’t communicated in all that time. In addition to Rollo, he took the four year old John with him to see his mother. He thought that reuniting mother and son might help to break the ice.

  When he rode in through the gateway he saw both Catriona and Bridget waiting for him with arms folded; their body language didn’t bode well. He lifted John off his pony and he ran into his mother’s embrace. Two year old Cara was standing clutching her mother’s skirts and he realised with a pang how much he had missed them both.

  ‘What brings you here, Simon. As you know, Edgar’s not here.’

  ‘And a good day to you too, Catriona. Bridget, it’s good to see you and Cara looking so well.’

  Neither girl replied, so he sighed and told them the bad news.

  ‘Edward has invaded again and is at Selkirk, at least he was four days ago. He’s probably at Lauder by now. It seems that he is making for the east coast where he can link up with his supply fleet. As Berwick is denied him, he will probably head for Eyemouth.’

  The two girls looked at each other in alarm. Eyemouth was only two miles from Ayton and the manor would lie directly in the enemy’s path.

  ‘King Robert has ordered that the land is laid waste so that the English can’t forage. I’ve already started to prepare for the evacuation of Lamberton and Foulden. The grain we’ve already harvested and threshed is to be loaded onto my ships ready to be taken to Aberdeen. The rest of the crops will have to be burnt in the fields. The villagers and the livestock will need to hide in the Lammermuirs. Edgar and I agree that the safest place for you is Dunbar Castle and I’ll take you there by sea. I am bound to join the earl to fulfil Edgar’s obligation in any case.’

  Catriona and Bridget just looked stunned. At that moment the bailiff and the reeve appeared and Simon repeated what he had just said. The two men looked to Catriona for confirmation. She just nodded dumbly and they hurried away.

  ‘So you’ve left Edgar to risk his life again whilst you look after the women and children, have you?’ Catriona spat at him bitterly.

  ‘Catriona, that’s not fair. You heard Simon say that he was joining the Earl of Dunbar’s army just as soon as he has got us and our people to safety.’

  Simon’s heart gave a little leap when he heard his wife defend him. He walked towards her as she stood there looking into his eyes, wondering what he intended.

  ‘I’m so sorry; I’ve been a bloody fool,’ he whispered in her ear as he took her in his arms.

  Out of the corner of his eye he saw tears spilling down his son’s face as he watched them, a delighted smile on his face. Simon wondered who had missed Bridget more, him or John.

  ‘Well, about time too! I’m sorry, Simon. Bridget’s right; it was unfair of me. I’m just worried about Edgar after the last time when he nearly died.’

  ‘I understand Catriona. Believe it or not, I worry about my only brother too. But enough for now, you had better start packing but don’t bring too much. I must get down to Eyemouth to supervise the loading of the grain.’

  Two days later they left Eyemouth and turned north up the coast towards Dunbar. A pall of black smoke hung over the coast from the fired fields. It was the same all the way north but, when they got to Dunbar they were refused entry to the harbour.

  ‘I’m sorry Sir Simon but the castle is already full to overflowing.’

  ‘But I’m due to join the earl with ten men.’

  ‘He’s gone to Edinburgh. I suggest you make for there.’

  Late in the afternoon they arrived at Leith and disembarked the women, children, maids and pages. After half an hour Simon found a livery stable and managed to hire a carriage, a cart and horses to convey everyone up to the castle. When they got there he found that the place was crowded and chaos reigned as many others before them demanded admittance.

  ‘Who’s in charge?’ Simon yelled at one of the harassed sentries guarding the main gate.

  ‘The Earl of Moray, sir but he won’t see anybody.

  ‘Thomas Randolph will see me. kindly tell him that Sir Simon de Powburn, admiral of the east coast fleet, is asking for him.’

  ‘Yes, Sir Simon.’ The man scuttled away, thankful for the excuse to escape the clamouring crowd.

  Ten minutes later the earl appeared with an escort of ten men-at-arms.

  ‘Simon, I hadn’t looked to see you here.’

  ‘I’m due to join the Earl of Dunbar in Edgar’s place. My brother is in command of the feet, such as it is. There’s no sign of the blasted galleys as yet.’

  Randolph ordered his escort to force the crowds back so that Simon’s party could enter the castle. Once they were all inside, he ordered his men to shut the gates.

  ‘God knows why they all want to get in here. They’ll only be trapped if Edward lays siege to the place.’

  He realised he had been less than tactful when he saw the worried look Catriona and Bridget gave each other.

  ‘Don’t worry, King Robert, Jamie Douglas and Walter Stewart are about to launch a major raid deep into northern England. It worked last time for Berwick and the king fully expects Edward to rush back south as soon as he hears that Cumbria, Northumberland and Yorkshire are aflame.’

  Once he had seen his wife and everyone settled in a rather small room in one of the towers, he, Rollo and the two drivers took the hired vehicles and horses back to the livery stables and waited for dawn before setting off for Aberdeen.

  He soon found a willing merchant and agreed a price with him for unloading and storing his grain. The merchant also agreed to hire his two ships for the duration of the crisis. That settled, Simon sailed his warship back to Edinburgh where he met his two serjeants and eight infantrymen. They had brought his own horses and they set out to find the Earl of Dunbar’s camp to the south of the city.

  ~#~

  Edgar was off Blyth, forty miles to the south of Berwick, when he saw the English fleet. It wasn’t as large as the one that had supported the attack on Berwick but it was far too large for him to tackle. He mulled over his options: he could head out to sea and circle around the main fleet, hoping to pick off a few stragglers; he could die in a blaze of glory by attacking them head on, or he could turn tail and hide in one of the many small bays along the coast and sally forth to sink a few before slipping away again.

  On balance he thought that the last option would probably inflict the most damage on the enemy, so he went about and started to sail back up the coast. He hadn’t gone more than ten miles, and had just spotted the mouth of the River Coquet near Amble, an ideal hiding place.

  ‘Sails dead ahead, Sir Edgar,’ the lookout called, just as he was about to order a change of course.

  ‘Can you make out anything? How many are there?’

  ‘Perhaps a dozen, no more.’ He counted quickly. ‘Fifteen I think.’

  ‘Any device on their sails?’ Edgar was praying that they were John of Islay’s long awaited galleys, though there seemed to be more than he was expecting.

  ‘I can’t make it out yet, Sir Edgar, but there are more of them now. I make it eighteen.’

  Edgar was now worried that the English had stolen a march on him and sneaked part of their fleet around him to cut him off. Then the lookout called down from the masthead once more.

  ‘The sails are yellow with what looks like a black boat on them but there is something red on top of it.’

  ‘Could it be a black galley and a red spread-eagle?’

  ‘Yes, that’s it!’

  Thank the Lord. It’s the MacDonalds, he thought with relief.

  He continued to draw the Engl
ish fleet north, the faster fighting cogs drawing ahead of the slower merchantmen. He counted ten of the former and decided that he and half of the galleys should take on the warships whilst the rest of the galleys went past them and got in amongst the transports. It would be like putting a pack of wolves into a flock of sheep.

  ‘Will you and half of your galleys join me in overcoming the fighting cogs whilst the rest of your fleet enjoy themselves amongst the merchantmen?’ he called across without preamble.

  ‘Sir Edgar, I presume. I’m John MacDonald, Lord of Islay and the Isles. I had thought that I would be in command and giving the orders here.’

  Edgar’s heart sank. Surely the man didn’t propose to have an argument as to who was admiral whilst the English were approaching.

  ‘Good to meet you, my lord. I don’t give a damn who’s in command here, as long as we defeat the bloody English.’

  He thought he heard a laugh then John MacDonald yelled back: ‘you’re a man after my own heart. We’ll do as you suggest. You take the seaward half and we’ll deal with the rest.’

  Edgar and his cogs prepared to wear ship as the galleys sailed past them. As the cogs came back onto a course that would take them out to attack the furthest warships from the land, the galleys dropped their sails and started to row. They gradually picked up speed as the merchantmen spotted them just ahead of their protective screen of cogs and panicked, all trying to go about at the same time. By the time that they had sorted themselves out, ten galleys had driven through the line of English fighting cogs and were rapidly closing on the twenty or so supply ships.

  To the merchant captains’ surprise they ignored the first ships they overhauled and carried on after the one in the lead. These were the laggards when they were heading north and therefore the slowest. As the galleys came up with the ten furthest south they grappled them and boarded. As soon as the crews surrendered, they left a small prize crew behind and set off after the remaining ten. Only one, the cog with the lightest load, got away.

  Edgar wasn’t aware of the fate of the supply ships at that point. He was far more concerned with the largest of the fighting cogs flying a large banner, presumably the English flagship. The archers on the two ships had inflicted quite a lot of casualties on each other as they closed and Edgar had nearly been hit in the eye. He had spotted the arrow coming and had a split second to do something about it. Had he tried to lift his shield he would have been far too late but, luckily, he turned his head and the arrow glanced off the curved surface of his bascinet.

  Now he was on the deck of the other ship fighting for his life. The Englishman carried half as many men again as his ship did and, although his men were the more experienced fighters, the enemy numbers were beginning to tell. He blocked a thrust at his belly by a spearman but the spear stuck fast in his shield, making it virtually useless. He chopped at his opponent ‘s neck with his sword and he had the satisfaction of seeing his head slowly topple to the side as it parted company with his body.

  Then he was immediately attacked by a large man-at-arms wielding a two handed broadsword. Hampered by the spear still stuck in his shield, it was all he could do to use his own, much shorter, sword to parry his assailant’s blows. The heavy broadsword jarred his arm every time it made contact with his sword. Twice he nearly let go of it as his fingers went into spasm as the blow landed.

  Then suddenly the man-at-arms arched his back and fell to the deck with an axe embedded in his body. Edgar look up to see a grinning giant of a man dressed in a saffron kilt and a chainmail hauberk.

  ‘I assume that you are pleased to see me for the second time today, Sir Edgar?’

  ‘Lord John, I assume? Yes, I am. Very much so. I suspect I owe you my life but don’t tell my wife.’

  He shook the smiling giant’s hand and then looked around. His galley had grappled itself to the other side of the English flagship and the rest of them had gone to the assistance of his other ships. Another cog had been taken by two more galleys and the remaining four were heading south, pursued by two more galleys. Once they were certain that the four cogs were just intent on escape and not interfering with the capture of the supply ships, the two galleys gave up the chase.

  ‘It looks as if King Edward won’t be getting his supplies after all.’

  ‘And I’ll be getting enough spoils to make our slog around the top of the country worthwhile.’

  ‘We were expecting you a little earlier.’

  ‘There’s no point in having to pay my men to sit idle. I thought I’d timed our arrival rather well.’

  ‘Um, you mentioned the division of the spoils?’

  John gave Edgar a shrewd look. ‘I don’t suppose you would have ended up with much if I hadn’t appeared over the horizon.’

  ‘Oh, I don’t know. My plan was to lie in wait and pick off the stragglers.’

  ‘Hmmm. Very well. The cogs aren’t much use to me, except to transport the goods we’ve plundered back to the west coast.’

  ‘Why don’t you unload them and sell them in Berwick instead. My bother has a warehouse and we know other merchants who will rent you space. After the English have retreated south, the scorched earth policy that the king imposed on us means that you will have a ready market for food.’

  ’And what do you get out of this?’

  ‘The cogs.’

  ‘Very well, you have a deal,’

  All the two brothers had to do now was to find crews to man their vastly increased trading fleet and the escort vessels. No doubt the king would insist on taking some of the latter to enhance his own east coast fleet but the two brothers’ fortunes had suddenly improved overnight, despite the crops that they had been forced to burn.

  Chapter Twelve – The Battle of Byland Moor

  September to November 1322

  James Douglas mounted his horse and joined Thomas Randolph, Earl of Moray, and Walter Stewart, the High Steward, at the head of the column of fifteen hundred riders. More would join them as they made their way down into England, crossing the border near Carlisle. There they turned east and raided along the border, burning Hexham again, until they were joined by King Robert and the Earl of Dunbar at the southern end of Redesdale.

  Both Simon and Edgar were with the army but with different contingents: Simon with the king and Edgar with Dunbar. The army now numbered over five thousand and included a large contingent of men from the West Highlands and Islands. The Scots continued east until they hit the coast at Bamburgh. The castle there was neigh on impregnable but it was short of supplies and the constable paid Robert to lift the siege.

  When the Scots reached Wooler, they stormed the palisade around the town and put it to fire and sword. Knowing that their mother and two younger sisters were there, Simon and Edgar with their twenty men joined the assault, intent on finding them first.

  They knew the man that their mother had married soon after she became a widow lived on the hill near the castle but they didn’t know where exactly. Luckily most of the borderers and highlanders pillaging the town had avoided the area near the castle, which hadn’t fallen and from where arrows rained down on any Scots who came within range.

  ‘They may have taken refuge in the castle, you know,’ Edgar muttered to his brother as they crouched in an alleyway looking up at its walls.

  ‘Yes, they may have but I would expect the constable to have closed the gates as soon as we appeared. We have to make sure, not for our cold-hearted mother’s sake but for the girls.’

  While their four archers gave covering fire, they dashed across the road to the houses on the hill opposite. They smashed in the bolted door of the first one they came to and found an old couple and a middle aged woman cowering in a corner of the only downstairs room.

  ‘We mean you no harm,’ Edgar assured them. ‘We merely seek our mother, Gertrude, and her two daughters.’

  The old man climbed to his feet and gave them a steady look.

  ‘Why would two Scottish knights seek an English woman married to
a tailor?’

  ‘It’s a long story but we are Simon and Edgar de Powburn; that’s the name of the village south of here that our mother came from.’

  The man nodded and told them that they lived a few houses further up the hill. As they left his house they saw a party of highlanders working their way down the street, dodging the occasional arrow from the castle walls. There were only a few men visible on the wall now. Presumably someone was attacking the other side. Taking a risk, the brothers summoned their men and they dashed the sixty yards uphill to the house that the old man had indicated.

  They flattened themselves against the wall as Simon knocked urgently on the door, calling out who it was. By now the highlanders were only a hundred yards away but they were engaged in systematically pulling families out of their homes, raping the females and killing the men and children in the street before dashing back inside in search of plunder.

  Just as Simon thought he was going to have to batter the door down it opened a crack and an eye pressed itself to the crack.

  ‘Simon? Is it really you?’

  The oldest of his two sisters flung the door open and threw her arms around him.

  ‘Come, bring the others. We don’t have any time before the highlanders get here.’

  She nodded and dashed back inside, emerging a few seconds later with a man in his fifties, their mother, other sister and a boy of fifteen, who was presumably the tailor’s apprentice.

  With Simon and Edgar leading and with their men forming a protective screen around the family, the group dashed across the street and along one of the many alleyways that let towards the centre of the small town. They encountered numerous parties of Scots but they were either drunk or too busy raping and looting to pay them any attention.

  When they got to the main gate at the southern end they found it guarded. However, the men were led by Malcolm Douglas, who knew the two brothers well. When they got back to their camp Simon and Edgar told them briefly what they had been up to. To their surprise, their mother, who had never shown either of them any affection, broke down and cried when she heard that she was now a grandmother three times over.